My Favorite Comic Character: Spawn

So, to get things started here in Comic Kingdom, I feel it is only fair I give you guys some personal information about me, and what could be more valuable or personal than my favorite comic book character, of all time! So watch out, here comes Comic Kingdom’s very first character bio/analysis: Spawn.

I will never forget the day I became captivated by this dark menacing hero/character. When I was about ten years old, I was watching the feature film classic “Spawn” (released in 1997, directed by Mark A.Z. Dipped’) with my dad. As I saw this devilish looking protagonist, I asked my dad “So Spawn is the good guy, right?” He responded: “Eh, not quite.” Appropriately enough for a ten year old, I responded “So he is the bad guy then?” He answered with: “No not the villain either.” I said “That doesn’t make any sense”, “It will when you get older” he fittingly replied. This thoroughly confused me at the time, but little did I know, my dad’s response had implanted a seed, rooted in my desire to unravel this confusion, that would later grow and develop into a life long passion for the greatest comic book Anti-Hero of all time!

Anti-Hero– A central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.

Creator/First Appearance- Todd McFarlane released the very first issue of Spawn in May of 1992: Spawn #1.

Background Info and Origin-Before he was known as “Spawn”, the man behind the mask was Lt. Colonel Albert “Al” Francis Simmons, USMC. Al Simmons was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Clearly indicated by his Lt. Colonel status, Al was a total badass well before his “Spawn” days. He was an extremely proficient Force Recon Marine, who had even saved the President from an assassination at one point. This impressive feat landed him a job within a highly classified unit within the CIA devoted to black ops. That being said, he was a no role model by any means either, as his lust for kicking ass and taking names for the good ole’ red, white, and blue led to the inevitable deterioration of his morality. Over time however, Al eventually began to question his agency and those pulling the strings of these missions dipped in immorality.

This sense of doubt and resistance led to his demise, as Jason Wynn hired Bruce Stinson, Simmons’ friend and partner, to kill him. In a blazing inferno, Simmons was killed and his soul sent to Hell, because he had knowingly killed innocents while working for the CIA.

Simmons made a deal with an evil being known as Malebolgia: in exchange for his soul, he would get to see once again his wife, Wanda. However, when Simmons returned to the human world, five years had passed, and he had been transformed into a demonic creature with little memory of his former life (hence the name Spawn, short for HellSpawn). After regaining his memories, he sought out his wife, only to find she had moved on and married his best friend, Terry Fitzgerald, and that they now had a daughter named Cyan.

Powers/Ability Origin- Spawn’s powers might just be the most fascinating part about my favorite character. Not for the sheer power of his powers and abilities, (not to say they aren’t quite fierce) but more over how his powers function. As most deals with demon lords go, there were plenty of “fine print” details Al Simmons failed to see or expect. Spawn’s powers are limited use, as in the more he uses his powers the closer he gets to exhausting the tank, and when the tank runs dry Al’s soul is officially damned forever. Thus, Malebolgia was more than happy to explain its a win win for him, as Al/Spawn can either keep using his powers to defeat the evils of both the human world, as well as vanquishing demons or he can sits idly by as he watches the world crumble before him.

Powers/Abilities- Al Simmons is not the first Hellspawn, as the series explains, and they all are special enforcers or potential generals that could one day assist leading the legion of Hell in battle. The source of power for all Hellspawns comes from necroplasm. It is the necroplasm which gives them their strength and durability. His strength is capable of lifting an entire building and throwing it with ease. Necroplasm was originally dubbed by humans as Psychoplasm, but later in translation has become the green goo we’re all more familiar with. Each Hellspawn is given 9:9:9:9 units of necroplasm and when that is gone they go straight back to Hell. Spawn’s main weapon however is his symbiotic suit. His suit is called Leetha of the 7th House of K or K7-Leetha.

The suit is connected to his central nervous system which allows him to control all parts of the suit, but at times the suit has protected him even if he is unconscious. He uses the suit to create his chains, spikes and to animate his cape to attack his foes, even cutting and dismembering limbs. The costume feeds off the necroplasm in Spawn’s body however the suit can also feed off evil from humans, certain animals such as insects, bats, etc and even from different parts of the city itself. Spawn’s power is only truly limited by imagination and his units of necroplasm. However due to Spawn retaining his military training he often uses firearms instead of his powers.

Reader Reference- Yet another reason I love Spawn- Only one story line to follow! Todd McFarlane is the one and only creator and owner of Spawn and the entire series. So is only one main story for Spawn. This makes the Comic kingdom Reader Reference an easy one. GET THE COMPENDIUM ITS WORTH IT!!!

The Spawn Compendium 1 includes issues #1-50! However it is in black and white, but honestly I was very cautious about buying myself, as I usually LOVE color, especially in graphic novels; however, Spawn’s dialogue is the main attraction here so it was no problem for me to soar through all 1,136 pages!